Author Archives: Ben Hsu
QotW: What’s your greatest JNC tragedy?
This weekend’s sad news about a 2000GT being at the wrong place at the wrong time got us thinking about the heartbreak our cars cause us. What’s your greatest JNC tragedy? Sure, Mother Nature showing us who’s boss by cold … Continue reading
NEWS: Passing Toyota 2000GT crushed by tree
There were only 337 production examples of the Toyota 2000GT built. Now there’s one less. At about 9:00 am this morning in the Gokayama area of Toyama Prefecture, the classic flagship car passed under a 100-foot beech. Unfortunately, that’s the exact moment the tree came … Continue reading
Classic & Sports Car pits Toyota 2000GT against UK and US counterparts
The June 2014 issue of the UK’s Classic & Sports Car pits a Jaguar E-Type against a 1965 Corvette and a Toyota 2000GT to see which continent produced the best sixties sports coupe. Long-time readers know what’s coming next: A genuflecting ode … Continue reading
GRAND TOURING: Okinawa
To Americans, the name Okinawa immediately conjures images of US military bases. However, the archipelago located south of Honshu, Japan’s main landmass, is also a popular subtropical tourist destination. Okinawa literally means “a rope in the open sea” and is comprised of a 600-mile … Continue reading
BOOK CLUB: Koichi Inouye’s 1960s Japanese sports cars volumes now available in English
Three Koichi Inouye books about 1960s Japanese sports cars have been translated into English and published as e-books. The works cover seminal automobiles from Japan’s largest automakers, the Honda S-Series, Toyota 2000GT and Sports 800, and the Datsun Fairlady roadster.
Posted in Books
Tagged 1600gt, 2000gt, datsun, fairlady roadster, honda, nissan, S-Series, sports 800, toyota
8 Comments
QotW: What would Bunta drive in an Initial D prequel?
With the Initial D series winding down those craving more tales of the touge will have to wait for the feature film reboot this August. However, some JNCers have suggested the idea of a new story instead, one focused on the background of … Continue reading
Posted in Question of the Week
Tagged Dodge Challenger, Galant Lambda, Initial D, mitsubishi, Plymouth Sapporo, Question of the Week
34 Comments
JNC THEATER: Initial D Final Stage
The anime that brought touge culture to US screens is coming to an end. Initial D, in manga form, concluded its 18-year run last summer. Now, the animated account of the story is following suit. Animax will air a total of four 30-minute episodes wrapping … Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? Original-owner 44k-mile Nissan 240SX
We’ve lamented the fact that AE86s have nearly all been drifted into oblivion, but what about its cross-town rival? The Nissan 240SX sold in larger numbers, but finding an unmolested one can still be a challenging proposition these days, especially when it’s a … Continue reading
NEWS: LA Times discovers classic Japanese cars
The Los Angeles Times recently published an article about the rising costs of classic Japanese cars. And while it’s likely not breaking news to JNC readers, it provides an interesting outsider’s perspective to something you know intimately. Plus, it profiles everyone’s favorite kyuusha power couple, … Continue reading
QotW: Which JNC is the rarest coelacanth?
The coelacanth was a species of deep-sea fish thought to have gone extinct 66 million years ago, during the age of the dinosaurs. That is, until 1998 when the L. menadoensis species of coelacanth was rediscovered in modern times by a UC Berkeley marine biologist … Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? 12k-mile Honda S800 Coupe at government auction
The cars at government auctions usually aren’t this interesting. In Fukuoka, Japan the Regional Taxation Bureau is trying to unload a Honda S800 Coupe with less than 12,000 miles. Yes, that’s miles, because this is something rare, even for Japan — a left … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2014 All-Toyotafest, Part 04 — Museum Pieces
For our final installment of Toyotafest coverage, we bring you the museum-worthy cars that put meaning to the word classic. Whether its racing provenance, rarity, pop culture status or just a stupendously fantastic specimen, these are the cars that are should be exhibited and preserved as inspiration … Continue reading
Posted in events
Tagged 2000gt, a20, a40, ae86, back to the future, celica, corolla, dan gurney, events, fj80, hilux, Ivan Ironman Stewart, jza80, land cruiser, levin, lexus, Lexus CCS-R, lfa, mr2, N50, sprinter, supra, sw20, te27, toyota, toyotafest, trueno, van
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NEWS: Get one of 100 Mazda MX-5 25th Anniversary Editions today, while supplies last
In honor of the Miata’s 25th birthday Mazda has created just one hundred MX-5 25th Anniversary Edition roadsters. A special website will open for orders in just a few hours, on May 20 at 10:25 am Pacific Time. UPDATE: Well, that was quick. All 100 sold out … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2014 All-Toyotafest, Part 03 — Practicals
We’ve seen the high-end luxocruisers that gave Toyota its reputation of apocalypse-grade reliability and the long-forgotten sports coupes Akio Toyoda hopes will rekindle passions for his great-grandfather’s company, but Part 03 of our Toyotafest coverage is about the everyday cars and trucks that made the ToMoCo kingdom possible.
EVENTS: 2014 All-Toyotafest Part 02 — The Sports Coupes
This year Toyotafest fell on a very special occasion — President and CEO Akio Toyoda‘s 58th birthday. Since taking the helm of his great-grandfather’s company in 2009, Toyoda-san has vowed to bring the wakudoki back. What’s wakudoki? “A palpable, heart-pounding sense of excitement,” says Toyota. … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2014 All-Toyotafest, Part 01— Luxe & GT
Hanging like a cloud over the festivities of the 19th annual All-Toyotafest this year was the news that had been leaked to the press a week prior: Toyota USA was moving its headquarters, which had been a southern California fixture … Continue reading
VIDEO: Identify these nostalgic Nissan race cars by sound
Pop quiz, hotshot. Five nostalgic Nissan race machines tear down a straight. You have only the glorious sounds of their motors to identify whether they are the 1971 Safari 240Z, a touring spec B110 Sunny Excellent, the turbocharged 240RS, the OG Prince Skyline GT … Continue reading
2014 Nissan Jam registration now open
Registration for the 2014 Nissan Jam is now open. After the success of last year’s inaugural show, the venue has been opened up to include space for even more Nissan and Datsun cars than last year. Click here to register. All entrants receive a free … Continue reading
Posted in events
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QotW: What’s the story with your JNC’s keychain?
Keychains. They will soon be a thing of the past thanks to fancy push-button starters and “smart” keys. Can something really even be called a key fob if there is no key attached? Well, at least when you drive a JNC … Continue reading
Happy Mother’s Day from JNC
A page from the 1962 Mazda Carol 360 brochure, one of Japan’s first family cars. Happy Mother’s Day from JNC.
